AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE is a true classic of rock in the 1990s. Released shortly after the successful OUT OF TIME, it finds R.E.M. on a creative roll with no shortage of original ideas; yet it also shows the band embracing even further the darker aesthetic shadings hinted at on "Losing My Religion."
Bold songs such as the ominous "Drive" and the empathetic "Everybody Hurts" demonstrated that the band were not reluctant to experiment, while "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" and the elegiac Andy Kaufman tribute "Man On The Moon" displayed all of the intelligent pop-savvy on which the band's reputation was first built.
However, it is on songs such as "Sweetness Follows," "Nightswimming," and "Find the River" that a haunting melancholy emerges that is unlike anything the band previously attained. The songs are sparse yet full of deep emotion and conjure a Southern gothic emotionality that one might find in amidst the pages of Flannery O'Connor's most redemptive work. AUTOMATIC is not R.E.M.'s most upbeat record, but it is unquestionably one of its most rewarding.
Track List:
. Drive
A1. Drive 4:30
A2. Try Not To Breathe 3:49
A3. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite 4:06
A4. Everybody Hurts 5:17
A5. New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 2:12
A6. Sweetness Follows 4:19
. Ride
B1. Monty Got A Raw Deal 3:16
B2. Ignoreland 4:24
B3. Star Me Kitten 3:15
B4. Man On The Moon 5:12
B5. Nightswimming 4:16
B6. Find The River 3:49
Media Condition: Mint (M)
Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)
Country: US
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Pop Rock
Craft Recordings